Balance Point
by TehMarishal
Summary: Sam makes plans to take his relationship with Mikeala to the next step, not knowing what complications may await them. Meanwhile, Prowl and Sunstreaker come to Earth carrying vital information, only to be injured as soon as they arrive. Please R
1. Chapter 1

"So what's this big surprise I've been hearing about?" Mikeala Banes asked with a playful glint in her eyes.

Samuel Witwickey cast a quick glance in her direction. "Well, I guess it won't be much of a surprise if you already know it about." He sounded slightly annoyed, but his girlfriend detected the playfulness in his voice.

"Oh it will be a surprise, to me at least," Mikeala replied as she climbed off of her pink motorcycle. "Because I have no idea what it's about yet. But I am going to find out." She smirked.

She'd literally just ridden up on it and parked it just behind Bumblebee, where Sam was standing. The Autobot was currently in his vehicle mode. The extraordinary alien appeared quite ordinary on the side of the street in front of Sam's parents' house.

Mikeala's sapphire-colored eyes darted toward the front of the house, taking in the sight of it. "Looks nice," she murmured in approval. Indeed it looked like an entirely different house, now that the remodeling was finally completed. It was now white in color and it had an enormous balcony on it.

"Yeah," called out an all-too-familiar voice. Sam and Mikeala then saw Sam's dad approaching them. "It took a while for the government to cough up the cash to fix this house, let alone remodel it." The older man with balding hair came over and leaned on the yellow Camero, draping one arm over it. "You see, since your alien buddies are pretty much known world-wide now, the government tried to weasel their way out of paying. But since our son helped save the world…" He smiled at Sam indicatively. "In the end they couldn't say no."

Mikeala cast Sam an affectionate glance, then reached up and undid her helmet. Bumblebee made some sort of undecipherable noise, but otherwise remained silent.

"RON!" came the unmistakable yell from Sam's mom, Judy. Only it wasn't coming from within the house, but behind it. "I NEED SOME HELP BACK HERE."

"Oh dear," Ron muttered, taking his arm off the Camero and moving quickly toward the house. "COMING, DEAR."

"Is your mom alright?" Mikeala asked, glancing toward the house with concern.

"I don't know," Sam muttered, furrowing his brow. Why was his father going inside the house when it was quicker to go around to the back? "Maybe I should check on her."

"I'll with you," Mikeala told him, quickly setting her helmet on the seat of her motorcycle, then jogging to catch up with Sam, who was already half-way around the house.

When they reached the backyard, they saw Judy Witwickey in the swimming pool that had recently been installed behind the house. The pair moved closer to the pool to make certain she was alright… and then noticed she was naked.

"Okay, I'm coming," came Ron's voice as the older man came out of the back door, carrying a couple of towels.

"Oh God," Sam groaned, turning around and placing his hands over his eyes. Mikeala's eyebrows had risen high on her forehead, and she turned her attention toward Mr. Witwickey.

"Hi, Mikeala!" Judy exclaimed, waving her hand, splashing a little in the pool. "I just thought I'd go skinny-dipping. Wanna join me? The water's great!"

"Oh God no…" Sam moaned more loudly this time. "This can't be happening…" He sounded pained.

Mikeala coughed slightly, then managed a sweet smile for his mother. "No thank you," she said. "I forgot my swimsuit."

"Oh that's no problem, you can borrow mine!" Judy said and then, to everyone's horror—especially Sam's—she threw her own bikini swimsuit out of the pool and toward Mikeala. Apparently she had taken it off after entering the pool.

"MOM!" Sam shouted, then grabbed Mikeala's hand. "Come on, uh… there's something I really want to show you out front…" He then dragged her along with him. She looked as though she wasn't sure whether to be mildly amused or embarrassed by the whole scene.

"Judy," Ron addressed his wife as the pair dashed off, "have you been dipping into the liquor cabinet again?"

Judy grinned. "Only a little bit," she replied.

Ron shook his head. He picked up the swimsuit off the ground and tossed it back to her. "Put that back on," he told her, then dropped the towels onto the edge of the pool. "This is the city; you know… we're not out in the middle of nowhere. Someone might see you like this."

Meanwhile in the front yard, Sam looked as though he simply wanted to get the hell out of there. "Come on, Bumblebee is going to take us someplace nice," he said urgently.

"Just a minute, Sam," Mikeala told him, pulling her hand out of his grasp. "If we're going somewhere in your Autobot buddy, I need to put my bike in your garage first."

"Get in the car," Sam said, gesturing toward Bumblebee. "I'll take care of your bike." Before she could say a word, Sam had already grabbed the pink motorcycle by its handlebars and begun to wheel it toward the garage.

Mikeala shrugged. She then turned around and looked at Bumblebee, who already had the passenger seat door open for her. She smiled a little and climbed in, then closed the door.

"So how're you doing, Bee?" she asked as she glanced around at his interior.

Instead of using his radio to piece together radio shows or songs to reply, Bumblebee actually used his vocalizer. It made several static noises at first but then he finally managed, "I am quite fine."

"Is your voice getting better?" she asked curiously. When the only reply she got was a large burst of static, she shook her head slightly. "I guess not. You really ought to let Ratchet take a look at that."

Before Bee could come up with a reply through his radio, Sam returned and quickly walked over to the driver's side and got in. "Okay," he muttered, "let's go."

As they pulled away from the Witwickey house and went down the street, Mikeala folded her hands on her lap and glanced toward Sam with a twinkle her eyes. "So, what's this big surprise that's coming?" she asked. "Apparently your parents are in on it, and my dad is in on it…"

"I wouldn't say they're in on anything," Sam told her, focusing his attention on the road ahead.

"But they know about it," Mikeala told him suspiciously. Judging from the way Sam's eyes were not entirely focused on the road, and that he was only lightly touching the steering wheel, she could deduce two things. One was that he was very distracted for some reason. The other was that he wasn't really driving; Bee was.

After looking at her boyfriend for a moment, Mikeala leaned back in her seat and sighed in mock-annoyance. In truth she was enjoying this, but she wasn't about to let on. "Does he know about this too, whatever it is?" she asked, indicating Bee by pointing at the dashboard.

"Um… sort of," Sam said, casting her a quick, nervous smile. He then focused on the road ahead once again.

Mikeala grinned. "Wow you look nervous," she said. "I haven't seen you like this since the last battle with the Decepticons… or when Megatron grabbed you and pinned you down on that aircraft carrier." She looked at him again, the glint in her eyes dancing in the sunlight that poured through the windshield. "Whatever this is, it must be big."

"Yeah," Sam murmured, although it seemed as though he was talking to himself as much as he was talking to her. "It is."

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet, which simply proved all the more to Mikeala that something big was up. Normally he responded to her attempt at playful banter with some playful goading of his own. This time around though, all he did was nod, grunt or mutter in acknowledgement.

Finally, Bumblebee rolled to a stop next to a gazebo at the local park. Yet even after his engine shut down Sam remained still. He was staring out the windshield with his hands seemingly glued to the steering wheel. He looked like he was frozen in place.

"…Sam?"

Mikeala's voice seemed to startle him and bring him back to awareness. He cleared his throat and then reached for the door. He seemed to be having a difficult time trying to find the handle, so Bumblebee opened it for him, then opened the door on the passenger side.

"Thanks, Bee." Mikeala stepped out of the car and waited for Sam. He practically stumbled as he climbed out, grabbing onto the edges of Bee's frame inside the open door to steady himself. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking at him carefully.

"I'm fine," Sam replied a bit too quickly. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, leading the way toward the gazebo.

Suddenly Bumblebee honked his horn softly, then rolled forward slightly. His headlights flashed a couple of times and then shut off. He seemed to be trying to get their attention.

"What is it?" Sam asked testily. It wasn't his intention to be snippy, although he had a habit to sound that way when he was stressed and nervous.

A voice from some sort of talk show that Sam didn't recognize came from Bee's radio, _"Aren't you forgetting something?"_

"Forgetting something?" Sam released Mikeala's hand and rushed back toward Bee, wondering what he could have possibly forgotten. Then he noticed a very important item sitting in the drivers' seat. A very small box that must have fallen out of his pocket while he was climbing out.

Sam snatched it up and put it into his pocket, glancing toward Mikeala. He was grateful that she was standing too far away to see it. "Thanks buddy," he said gratefully, patting Bee's hood affectionately as he passed.

Once Mikeala and Sam reached the gazebo the two of them stood within it silently for a few moments.

"So why are we here?" Mikeala finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Um, well…" Sam swallowed. It seemed as though his voice was getting stuck in his throat. "It's a beautiful day," he finally managed, then glanced at Mikeala. "Though not as beautiful as you." He smiled nervously.

Mikeala raised her eyebrows, then smiled at the compliment. There was, however, a suspicious glint in her eyes. "So what are we doing out here, Sam?" she asked quietly. "You've been a nervous wreck ever since we got into Bumblebee, and I don't think it's just because we saw your mom in her birthday suit behind your parents' house."

"Yeah. Well." Sam cleared his throat again, staring down toward the floor. "As you know, I have only a couple more months left at college, and I have a job now."

Mikeala nodded. "Pizza delivery boy, I know. I also know that Bumblebee thinks it's humiliating to wear that 'Happy Pizza Toppings of All Kinds' sign on his roof whenever you guys make deliveries."

Sam chuckled softly, although it sounded more like a choke. "Well um, I talked to my parents about it, and I talked to your dad about it, and um… well, we both have jobs, what with you still working at your dad's place, and uh… well…"

"Well what?" Mikeala gently pressed, staring at him fully now.

"Well…" Sam swallowed. "There is something… v-very important… I-I want to ask you."

Before either of them could say anything more, Sam felt his stomach lurch. He gagged and immediately knew he wouldn't be able to hold it in. He quickly turned and leaned over the side of the railing, then his stomach released its contents in a handful of gut-wrenching hacks.

"Sam, are you alright?" Mikeala asked with concern.

Sam finally moved away from the railing, taking deep breaths. "I'm sorry," he rasped, then wiped his mouth on the edge of his sleeve, trying not to let her see the disgusting gesture.

That was when he'd noticed that he had dropped the little box from his pocket again. Not only that but it had fallen open, revealing a golden ring with a large shining diamond that glinted gorgeously in the sunlight.

"What's that?" Mikeala blurted, her eyes widening as she looked down at it.

Sam reacted quickly, stooping down to pick it up and then handed it out toward her. "W-will you marry me?" he asked her, staring straight into her eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The ship had reached its destination; the planet Earth. But it was under heavy fire from the Decepticons.

There were only two Autobots onboard, but one of them carried vital information that needed to be delivered to Optimus Prime as soon as possible. The two Autobots exchanged glances briefly, then turned their attention to their ship.

Their vessel was careening out of control and both of them quickly realized that there was nothing they could do anymore. The engines were shot and the navigational systems were non-responsive. It was going to crash on Earth.

"Get to the stasis pods and eject," Prowl commanded, already moving.

Sunstreaker nodded. He had already sent out a brief communication on a standard Autobot channel, knowing that someone on Earth would most likely pick it up. He then followed Prowl toward the back of their small ship, where a pair of stasis chambers were being kept for such emergencies.

Both of them stepped into their pods and allowed themselves to be sealed in, and felt themselves slipping into stasis naps as the stasis fields within initiated. Now all they could hope for was that they would land safely on Earth, be found by the Autobots, and that the information they came to Earth to deliver could then be given to Optimus Prime.

Once they were in deep stasis, no longer aware of their surroundings, the ship automatically launched the pods toward Earth. The Decepticons continued firing on the ship, which then exploded mere seconds after the pods were ejected.

The Decepticons then fired upon the stasis pods, getting in a couple of lucky shots, but quickly lost track of them as they entered the Earth's upper atmosphere. But the Decepticons were confident that they had at least damaged the pods.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N Since I forgot to do this in the first chapter; Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of the characters, I just wrote this for fun. Also, I'd like to thank Aren-Kae and Hot Rod's Girl for helping me out with this._

Sam continued to stare at Mikeala, looking deeply into her eyes. Her eyes darted back and fourth a couple of times. She looked at Sam, at the ring, then back at Sam again. She seemed to have been taken completely off guard. She also seemed to be struggling to find her voice.

The unfortunate puking incident now forgotten, Mikeala licked her lips nervously as she stepped closer to Sam, closing in the space between them. "That's so beautiful," she whispered hoarsely, her voice thick with emotion. Then she met Sam's eyes with her own. He could see a light mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she said, "You've never bought me jewelry before… but I'm glad you picked this as the first piece."

Sam swallowed. His face was pale and slightly green, but there was hope and determination in his eyes. "Does that mean you'll take it? That y-you'll marry me?" he asked. He then winced at the way his voice had cracked.

Mikeala beamed, her pearly white teeth shining brightly. "Yes."

Sam grinned like an idiot. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Mikeala leaned against him, pressing her forehead against his. She put one arm around his back and the other behind his neck. "After all we've been through together, you think I'd say anything else?"

"We did discover an alien race together." He wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently against him.

"And we almost got killed together." Mikeala's arm slipped away from Sam's neck and her hand inched toward the box he was holding.

Sam pulled back slightly and freed his arms to take the ring out of the box. He smiled at her. "Hold out your hand." He then slipped the ring onto her left hand. A silence fell between them as she studied the ring on her finger, turning her hand this way and that, watching the diamond glint in the sunlight.

"Mikeala Witwickey," she murmured softly. "Has a nice… ring to it." She chuckled at the unintentional pun as she continued to stare at the ring on her finger. "Then again," she went on as she looked at Sam, "I think 'Sam Banes' is kind of cute."

"Oh come on, that's one of the oldest jokes I've ever heard."

"Is it?"

"Well…" Sam coughed slightly. "Not really. But it's the only comeback I could come up with on such short notice."

"Hey it's been a big day. Your mom went skinny dipping behind your parents' house, then you threw up while you were in the process of asking me to marry you." She looked at him teasingly. "That is so romantic, you know."

"So was telling me that you loved me when you thought I was dead."

"Well, I always knew we were different from other couples."

"We're supposed to kiss now."

"I know."

Their lips locked together in a fierce, passionate kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other in a tight embrace as though they'd never let go.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Bumblebee was all-too-aware that he'd been followed. The only question was _who_ had followed him all the way out here to the park. Part of him wanted to pay close attention to what his friend Sam was saying to Mikeala, to determine how it was going. But the Autobot also knew that they deserved a bit of privacy. Plus he needed to figure out just who followed him all the way out here.

At first he couldn't see anyone. But he was also keeping a general watch in the humans' direction, plus he was momentarily distracted when Sam started throwing up over the side of the gazebo.

Apparently the stalker had taken advantage of Bee's distraction, for whomever it was moved into a clump of bushes nearby where they wouldn't be seen so easily. Bumblebee started his engine quietly and rolled backward slowly. He didn't want to alarm the humans by moving too quickly, nor did he want to alert the stalker to the fact that he'd been noticed.

Once Bumblebee was close enough to the clump of bushes he transformed into his robotic form. Then he crouched and looked around, trying to make certain no one else was around. Then, keeping low to the ground to prevent being seen, he moved closer to the clump of bushes.

The first thing the yellow bot detected was that whoever was hiding was a Cybertronian. It had a definite energy signature, and it registered as a machine. The second thing he noticed was that it was an _Autobot_ energy signature.

In the next instant, Bumblebee recognized who it was. And he managed to get his vocalizer operating enough to utter a single word. "Sideswipe!"

Then quite suddenly a silver-colored corvette backed up out of the bushes, narrowly missing Bumblebee. The yellow Autobot had to leap diagonally away from the bushes to stay out of the other bot's path.

Bumblebee stood completely still for a moment. Sideswipe, who remained in his vehicle mode, also remained motionless. Then quite suddenly, the silver corvette revved his engine and sped off, going back onto the road and speeding off.

The yellow bot watched him go. He considered pursuing but decided against it. He did not want to risk drawing attention to himself, nor did he want to abandon Sam and Mikeala. Bee had been duly informed of Sam's plans, and it would not do to leave now. Bumblebee would still have a role to play in the day's events.

So he simply shook his head and transformed back into his Camero form, then moved back into place right where he'd been before.

0o0o0o0o0

"Come on," Sam told Mikeala softly, once they had finally broken their kiss. During their long moments of passionate bliss, they had been completely oblivious to the world around them.

"Where?" Mikeala asked as he took her hand. "Where are you taking me now?"

"You'll see," Sam told her. "I'm gonna make sure at least something today is perfect, I promise. I'm gonna do this right."

Together they walked back over to the Bumblebee. As was traditional, Sam got in on the driver's side and Mikeala got in on the passenger side.

As they both settled in and fastened their seatbelts a gentle instrumental piece universally known as "The Wedding Song" or "Here Comes the Bride" began to play softly from the speakers of Bumblebee's radio. "Cut it out," Sam muttered to Bee as Mikeala laughed. The music continued for a moment longer, then ceased.

Sam then leaned over in front of Mikeala, opening the glove compartment and pulling out a white strip of cloth.

"What is that?" Mikeala asked. But then she quickly realized what it was. "Oh no, you are so not putting a blindfold on me," she said.

Sam glanced at the piece of cloth in his hands and then back at her. "It's supposed to be a surprise," he commented.

"I think I know where we're going next," she said, reaching over and taking the blindfold from him. "We're probably going out to dinner."

Sam sighed softly. "You got it all figured out, don't you?"

"Yeah. So you won't need this." She put the blindfold back into the glove compartment.

"Okay," Sam shrugged, then leaned back in his seat. "Bumblebee, take it away," he told his Autobot friend.

Bumblebee's engine purred to life as he pulled away from the road's edge, then began heading down the street.

After going a couple of miles, the yellow Autobot realized that they were being followed again. The silver corvette was tail-gating them. Bumblebee made a soft noise of annoyance, although the two humans paid no attention to it. They thought it was simple engine noise.

Bumblebee quietly debated with himself, wondering if he should simply let Sideswipe follow or try to lose him. On the one hand, Bee did not want to risk ruining this day any more than it already had. But on the other hand he didn't want to risk Sideswipe ruining things by getting in the way or pulling some sort of prank.

Knowing Sideswipe… he was probably up to something.

This conflict continued to get analyzed through Bumblebee's processor as he weighed the pros and cons of either option. Finally he made a decision. He picked up a bit of speed, just a bit over the legal limit.

Sam and Mikeala were currently focused on each other, so they did not notice the increase in velocity.

They soon arrived at their destination—a Chinese restaurant. Bumblebee parked in the small lot behind the building. Sam grinned and got out of the car, quickly walking around to open Mikeala's door for her, playing the part of a true gentleman. He then took her hand and they went into the building, Mikeala murmuring in approval.

Once Bumblebee was sure they were out of sight, he rolled away from the entrance just in time to see the all-too-familiar silver corvette pull into the parking lot. Bee transformed into his robotic mode, then placing his servos on his hips, scowling.

Sideswipe rolled backward a bit, knowing he had been spotted at that there was no getting out of it this time.

A clip from a radio show played from Bumblebee's radio, _"I thought you were on duty."_

The silver corvette split apart as he began to transform. Once he was fully in his robotic form Sideswipe said, "I just took a little detour. I wanted to see the sights, you know?"

Bumblebee shook his head slightly. _"Spying is more like it."_ Another radio show clip.

"Spying? Me?" Sideswipe placed his servos on his chassis. He managed to look shocked, hurt, and indignant all at once. "Why would I do a thing like that? I was just out here patrolling, like I'm supposed to."

Bumblebee tried to speak, only to have his vocalizer fail miserably. He hit himself lightly in the throat, then his voice worked long enough for him to manage, "That does not include following me on their big day." He pointed indicatively toward the Chinese restaurant's entrance.

"Oh so they _are_ in there?" Sideswipe said, his enthusiasm completely giving his true intentions away.

The yellow Autobot stepped toward him, glaring. He tried speaking again but his voice failed him. Instead he simply made shooing gestures toward the pesky Autobot, and pointed toward the road. _Just get out of here._

Several people were now pointing in their direction and they were starting to draw a crowd. Bumblebee banged his servo against his helm in exasperation. They were drawing attention to themselves.

Suddenly, before Bee could think of anything to do or say, Sideswipe grunted. The silver-colored mech staggered, his servo going near his spark. "He's here!" he said suddenly, his optics going wide.

Bumblebee looked at him, tilting his head curiously. Who was coming?

"My brother!" Sideswipe said. He then nodded, as though confirming that realization. "Sunstreaker has come to Earth! I feel it in my spark!"

With that he transformed and sped off.

Bumblebee glanced back in the direction of the restaurant, quickly debating his options. Obviously, whatever Sideswipe's intentions were—whether they be merely spying on Sam and Mikeala in order to spread the events of the day all over the base later, or be something more sinister—were now completely forgotten.

Unless, of course, this in of itself was another of his infamous pranks. But then again, if Sunstreaker truly was on Earth, that was something that couldn't be ignored.

Bumblebee finally decided to transform and follow after Sideswipe. The yellow bot figured that Sam and Mikeala would be fine for a while, since romantic dinners seldom went by quickly. He figured he would have plenty of time to figure out where Sideswipe was going and if Sunstreaker was truly on Earth and still be able to get back to the restaurant before either of the humans realized he was gone.

And if this did turn out to be another of Sideswipe's pranks, well… Bumblebee figured he could simply pass it on to Optimus Prime later. And hope that the Autobot leader would give the prankster a good chewing out over it.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sunstreaker growled as he attempted to pull himself out of his stasis pod. The stasis field had failed on the way down so he knew that it had been damaged, most likely by Decepticon fire. So he had landed roughly and he'd felt everything all the way down.

Not only that, but his stasis pod had landed right in the midst of a large, dirty swamp.

"SLAGGIT!" he cursed as he bashed his fist against the edges of the stasis pod. That only served to alleviate his anger and frustration somewhat. He continued to swear under his breath as he pried the pod the rest of the way open, using all of his strength to force the stubborn lower section.

Once he was finally out he glared at the ground as he began to walk through the muddy swamp water. By this point he completely lost his temper. "FRAGGING ORGANIC SLAG! EATING AWAY AND MY PAINT AND _**PRIMUS!**_ IT GETS INTO PLACES THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE!"

Being attacked by Decepticons and landing roughly on this planet were one thing. But now his paint job was getting soiled and scratched. And he had just redone it before he'd left Cybertron, too!

"FRAG THIS PLANET AND ALL ITS ORGANIC SLAG."

He stamped through the swamp, attempting to shake the wet dirt and water off his feet as he went. But that only served to spread the mud and much all over him thoroughly.

He finally stomped onto drier ground, muttering and cursing all the way. He was half-tempted to swat at the muck that clung to him to try and get it off, but he didn't want to risk ruining his paint job any more than it already was.

"Oh frag it," he growled. "It's ruined anyway!" He brushed at his limbs, trying to get the worst of it off.

After a moment he then realized that something was off. He blinked his optics and looked around. "Prowl?" he said out loud, looking around. Indeed, the tactician was nowhere to be seen. And as far as he could tell when he looked around, the only stasis pod in the immediate area was his own.

Although still preoccupied with the mud on his armor and frame, he felt a pang of concern in his spark as he continued to look around. Prowl had been carrying some kind of vital information that needed to get to Optimus Prime, as soon as possible. If he was missing, then that was not good.

A faint noise in the distance drew his attention. His head shot up and he glanced around, trying to determine the source of the sound especially as it drew closer. Then he noticed a couple of vehicles coming in his direction, one yellow and one silver.

Once both of them were merely a few meters away both of them transformed. Sunstreaker tensed slightly, until a pull within his spark told him that one of them was his brother. He blinked, staring at the silver one. Indeed, he hadn't recognized Sideswipe at first; he looked a bit different with his new alternate mode.

"SUNNY!" Sideswipe yelled, running toward his twin. He then pounced on Sunstreaker and sent them both rolling a few feet… right back into the muddy water.

Bumblebee watched the entire scene in completely silence, his optics dancing with quiet amusement as he watched them. The two brothers had been separated from quite some time now, and he knew it was best to simply wait until they were finished releasing their tension.

It was somewhat rare for twins of a split-spark to occur, but when it happened it was difficult for the siblings to be apart for a long period of time, due to the bond that they shared as siblings.

A roar sounded from Sunstreaker accompanied by a yelp from Sideswipe. Bumblebee watched as Sunstreaker knocked his brother off of himself and slammed him down into the muck, sending muddy water flying in all directions. Some of it splattered onto Bee, who groaned a bit and tried to wipe it away, but otherwise he ignored it.

"You slagger!" Sunstreaker growled, having pinned Sideswipe beneath him. "You ruined what little of my paint job that still looked decent! LOOK AT ME! I AM NOW COMPLETELY COVERED IN MUD THANKS TO YOU!"

Sideswipe only grinned. "Love ya too, bro."

The only reply he got was another growl, accompanied by a hiss. He then climbed to his feet as his brother climbed to his own feet. He then looked into Sideswipe's broad, grinning face, and then grabbed him roughly by the shoulders. Then he pulled him into a tight embrace. "Yeah, good to see you, too," he growled into Sides' audio sensor, then released him.

"We have to find Prowl," he then said, glancing around.

"Prowl?" Sideswipe spoke up. "He's here too?"

"Yeah. And it's important that we find him. Come on, let's scout out the area."

0o0o0o0o0o0

"So… why now, Sam?"

Sam glanced up from the menu. Both himself and Mikeala were seated at a table in the far corner of the building, where they could both have some privacy and enjoy their meal once they ordered it.

"Hmm?" Sam asked, looking at her curiously. She was holding a menu in her hands but she wasn't looking at it. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why did you ask me to marry you now?" Mikeala asked.

"What? Was now a bad time?"

"We've just never talked about it. You've never even brought up the subject of marriage with me, yet apparently you go behind my back to talk to my dad about it. And the first I hear about it is when you pop the question to me in the park."

Sam shrugged slightly, looking a little sheepish. "I just wanted everything to be perfect," he told her.

"That's not answering my question, Samuel," Mikeala told him in a more serious tone. "After all we've been through together… what, were you afraid I'd say no or something?"

"Okay look, I'm sorry," Sam said, holding up his hand slightly. "I don't want this to turn into an argument on today of all days."

"Why, you don't want your idea of a perfect day to be ruined more than it has? Besides, we're not arguing."

"Yeah, we are."

"No, we're not."

"Are you two ready to order?"

Both Mikeala and Sam glanced up as their waiter spoke to them. "Um, ladies first?" Sam said, indicating Mikeala.

"You're such a gentleman," Mikeala told him sarcastically.

They each placed their orders and then waited until the waiter was out of sight. Then Sam spoke again. "So… what would you have wanted?"

"We both ordered the same thing."

Sam rolled his eyes. "No, that's not what I mean. What would you have wanted me to do?"

"Well," Mikeala said, "I would have wanted you to come to me first, to ask me what I thought of marriage."

"Isn't that what I just did? I proposed to you. I even gave you a ring."

"Yeah, you spent a lot of money on this, you talked to your parents and to my dad, but you didn't say a word about any of this to me before you did all of that."

"So I repeat, what would you have wanted?"

Mikeala huffed. "You are so dense sometimes," she said, almost growling softly. "Okay, let me spell it out for you. What I would have liked you to do was casually ask me what I thought of marriage well before you bought a ring, or talked to my parents. What you did was spend a ton of money on a gold band with a diamond, and you dragged my dad and your family into it, basically on the assumption that I would marry you."

Sam's expression was one of complete puzzlement now. "Well, I figured that you would want to marry me. We know each other very well, we've been dating for all this time, and I just thought—"

"Sam, one reason why this has worked so well is because we've always talked about everything. We've never gone behind each other's backs if we could help it. Yet you went behind my back on this, without saying one word about it to me. Don't you see what you've done? Now I've been put on the spotlight. You set everything up, and if by some slim chance I wasn't ready yet… I would have looked like the bad guy in this situation."

"I don't get it, Mikeala." Sam shook his head slightly. "Would you rather I simply asked you to marry me without talking to your father or to my parents? They would have had a fit."

"No that's not it," Mikeala snipped, sounding exasperated.

"Then what's your problem with how I handled the situation?" Sam demanded. "Wait, wait a minute. You said you don't like being put on the spotlight, and that this would have made you look bad if you felt you had to say no. But you didn't say no. In fact, you were fine and happy with all of this. Yet as soon as we get here…" He gestured around at the restaurant. "All of a sudden, you have a problem with what I did."

"Not what you did, how you did it," Mikeala informed him. "Out there in the gazebo I was just so overwhelmed and shocked that you bought me a ring and that you were really proposing. But on the way over here… it started to sink in, just what you did."

Sam stared at her with disbelief. It was bad enough that this day had gone so poorly, what with his mother's antics and the fact that he puked during the proposal. But now, apparently she had a problem with everything he'd done. Even though she'd said yes.

The waiter soon returned with their meals, and the two of them ate in silence. One thing was for certain though; the mood had been completely ruined.

Once they finished eating, Sam paid for the meal and left a generous tip on the table. Even though he'd had a rotten evening, maybe he could make the waiter's evening a good one, at least. Then as he and Mikeala walked outside, neither of them really looking at the other, they both noticed something odd at the exact same time.

Sam was the first to voice the question aloud. "Where's Bumblebee?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jill Peterson growled softly under her breath as she carefully made her way through the forest. She held a walking stick in her left hand while she felt her way along with her right hand. She also moved forward very carefully, lifting her feet and setting them back down with care.

She had been living with her Aunt and Uncle on their property for nearly two years now. She had once lived in Mission City, but ever since the attack of the giant metal monsters she lived with her Uncle and Aunt, the only family she had left.

The attack had also left her blind. She was fine otherwise, except for a scar on the shin of her left leg, and a few other, smaller scars on her body. Thankfully most of them could be easily hidden by wearing long-sleeved shirts and thick pants. But her blindness—the fact that the entire world would always be dark to her now, and that the last thing she remembered seeing was a giant, ugly metallic face with glowing red eyes—had left her impaired the most.

She supposed that she should consider herself lucky. She could still walk, and other than her blindness, she could still do everything she used to do. She could hear and she could use her hands. At least that was what her Aunt Marge and Uncle Albert kept telling her over and over again, when they tried to cheer her up.

After a while though, it just seemed repetitive, even patronizing. Yes, she supposed that part of her was grateful for the fact that she could still use the rest of her body like normal. But that didn't help with the fact that she couldn't see anymore.

In some ways she simply wanted to feel sorry for herself. And she wanted to prove to herself that she could live and move about just like a normal person, without being treated like she was helpless.

She was furious about the fact that she had to practically fight with her Aunt just to be able to leave the house alone. Margie meant well, but she made it sound like Jill would automatically get lost or die or something if she went out by herself. After an argument that had practically turned into a screaming match, Jill was finally allowed to go outside alone. She thought she heard her Aunt crying behind her as she stormed out, and part of her felt bad deep down. But at the same time she didn't care.

Just because Jill was blind, it did not mean she was helpless and needed everyone to baby her. It had been like this for the past four years. Some people felt sorry for her, others tried to help her as if she'd die on her own. Other people avoided her. Why couldn't people treat her like an ordinary human being?

_Because you're not ordinary, you're blind,_ part of her brain told her.

"Shut up," she muttered out loud. That always seemed to be the automatic response to stop a train of thought in her brain. Perhaps it did mean she was talking to herself in a way, but she did not care.

After a while she realized that she didn't know where she was going. She frowned when it occurred to her that she had been going in a few different directions, as she made her way around clumps of bushes, trees, or rocky areas.

She suddenly realized that she had no clue where she was. She opened her mouth to suck in a breath, trying to keep her heart from lurching in her chest. "Okay… stay calm," she muttered, hearing a nervous tremor in her own voice. "You can do this… just… try to retrace your steps."

She turned around and began to walk very slowly. Maybe if she was careful, she could find her way back, on her own…

Suddenly her hand touched something that didn't feel like a tree or a bush. In fact, it didn't even feel like a rock… it felt hard like a rock, but it didn't have the right texture.

Frowning, Jill tapped the end of her stick against it. Whatever it was, it seemed to be pretty big. What was it, something made of metal? She carefully reached out and began to feel it. There were rough places and some of the areas seemed to split apart or connected together. There were a lot of nooks and crannies…

All of a sudden she felt it move a little under her hand. It was accompanied by a sound like metal scraping, and some sort of engine-like noise. Startled, she gasped and took a hasty step backward, only to stumble and fall flat on her back.

The noises intensified and then the sound of something hitting the ground could be heard. Her blood froze in her veins when she remembered where she had heard those kinds of sounds before. Mission City, the day of the attack. Amongst the smell of smoke and burning buildings, explosions, and the sounds of people screaming and things being blown up… she had heard these distinct, metallic noises.

Before she could fully register the fact that she had apparently found one of those giant monsters, she felt something slipping underneath her and over her body at the same time. Giant, metallic fingers were encircling her. Then they lifted her up off the ground.

She screamed and began thrashing about, but could not loosen the grip.

She was going to die.


	3. Chapter 3

Now that Bumblebee was satisfied and relieved that Sidewipe's playful antics had been averted, due to the fact that Sunstreaker had come to Earth, he could now focus on the task of getting back to Sam Witwicky and Mikeala. The yellow Autobot was also relieved that Sunstreaker's arrival was indeed a reality, not simply another of his twin brother's pranks.

However, the fact that Prowl had apparently come to Earth too, and was nowhere in sight, was definitely a concern. Bumblebee, however, had other duties to perform this evening. So he had decided to go back to the restaurant where Sam and Mikeala were, and hoped that they had not noticed his absence. In the meantime, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe would go back to the Autobot base and inform Optimus Prime directly of what had taken place.

Bumblebee did not know why Prowl and Sunstreaker had come to Earth, except that Prowl apparently had some important information. Sunstreaker did not know anything about it because Prowl hadn't had a chance to tell him. And there was no doubt in Bumblebee's processor that Prowl had most likely intended to tell Prime directly, and no one else, unless Optimus chose to. That way, there was less of a chance of information leaking out.

In some cases, there were definitely times when the less the Decepticons knew that the Autobots knew, the better. Although it was times like this when Bumblebee wondered if that was truly wise. Prowl hadn't been found yet, so obviously he'd ended up crashing at another location. If he was damaged or worse yet caught by Decepticons, there was no telling what would happen to him. And the Autobots wouldn't get whatever the important information was.

_If only Prowl had entrusted Sunstreaker with the information, _Bumblebee thought with a wistful noise in his engine, _then we would at least know why they came to Earth. And what the important information is._

Bumblebee pushed those thoughts aside as he pulled up to the restaurant, once again hoping that his friends hadn't noticed his absence. To his horror he suddenly realized that they had. In fact, it seemed that they were motioning to a taxi.

Roaring his engine, Bee honked his horn loudly and made a few other automatic noises. That definitely got the attention of Sam and Mikeala. It was also probably enough to wake up the dead.

"Oh _shit!"_ Bee heard Sam curse. Sam then turned and exchanged words with the cab driving, presumably saying that he no longer needed a ride. Then Sam grabbed Mikeala's hand and made a dash toward Bumblebee, not seeing the rude gesture that the cab driver made at their backs.

Sam got in on the driver's side while Mikeala climbed into the passenger side. Once the doors were closed, Bumblebee's tires screeched and he pulled out, leaving the parking lot and heading out onto the road.

"Bumblebee, where the hell were you?" Sam demanded. His hands were on the steering wheel, although the Autobot was driving. "We looked for you for twenty minutes—"

"More like ten minutes," Mikeala interrupted.

"Whatever," Sam grumbled, throwing her a look of annoyance. Bumblebee could immediately tell that apparently he had missed something during his absence. "Bee, where did you go? We almost had to take a cab."

Thankfully, Bumblebee's vocalizer chose to cooperate with him enough to be able to speak. "I'm sorry, Sam," the Autobot's voice said, transferring itself through the radio's speakers to be heard in car mode. "Something important came up."

"Oh yeah, you mean more important than being there when it was time to leave?" Sam snipped. "Thanks a lot; you're a really great pal." His voice had a sarcastic edge to it.

"Sam, I know you're mad at me but don't take it out on him!" Mikeala said firmly.

"I'm not mad at you!" Sam glared, taking his eyes entirely off the road. He was no longer even pretending to drive.

"Yes you are," Mikeala snapped, glaring right back. "All I did was ask you why you chose to ask me to marry you now. When you said nothing about it before."

"And I tried to explain to you that I wanted to do things the traditional way, and I wanted to plan everything to be perfect. I wanted to surprise you, too."

"Oh yeah, well, that really turned out perfect." Mikeala bit her lip when those words left her mouth, regretting them instantly.

Sam growled a little, sounding almost like an Autobot. "So I puked my socks up and dropped the ring on the ground. You still said yes! That's what really matters, isn't it?"

"Sam, I just wish you would have asked me what I'd thought of the idea of getting married before you asked my father behind my back, and before you spent so much money on a ring," Mikeala stated, enunciating each word carefully as if she were speaking to a wayward five-year-old. "Because if you had done all that, and if I had said no, or said I wasn't ready, that would have been a big waste."

"But you said yes!" Sam repeated for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour.

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point?"

Now it was Mikeala's turn to growl. "You boys are _so_ dense sometimes!" she snarled. "Alright, listen to me closely, Sam, because obviously you aren't—"

"Oh no, _I'm_ listening but apparently _you_ aren't," Sam cut in. "You're just repeating yourself over and over again. Why don't you stop repeating yourself and tell me something I don't know?"

"I'm only repeating myself because you're not paying any attention to what I'm trying to say! You just keep cutting me off with 'But you said yes' when that's not the point!"

"But it is the point!" Sam snapped. "Mikeala, I don't get what the hell your problem is. I did everything the right way. I asked your dad if he was okay with me marrying you. Then I bought you a ring, and I set everything up so Bumblebee could take us to some nice places. Then—"

"Sam, this isn't the 20th century anymore, you know," Mikeala interrupted. "I feel like you've taken lessons on how to propose from the dinosaur age. Back in that time, people waited until after marriage to have sex, and you know we haven't."

Sam made no immediate reply. His cheeks flushed slightly. Both of them had forgotten they were riding inside of Bumblebee… who could hear everything they were saying.

Bumblebee, whose vocalizer was still working, broke in at this point. "Sam," he said, "Mikeala… which is more important to you, fighting over these petty disagreements, or how you feel about each other?"

Sam and Mikeala exchanged glances.

"Sam…" Mikeala began.

"No, don't say anything," Sam cut in, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I probably should have mentioned something to you before."

"I'm sorry too," Mikeala told him with a nod. "I know I'm probably being silly. It's just that… I've always been a girl of the modern age. Not all this old-fashioned stuff."

"You still want to marry me, even if I'm old fashioned sometimes?" Sam asked, leaning toward her a little in the seat.

Mikeala leaned toward him, meeting him part-way. "Yeah," she beamed, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "By the way," she added, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I just needed to wait until the right moment."

Sam put an arm around her waist, then placed his free hand at the small of her back, holding her closer. "Yes?" he murmured, their faces only centimeters apart now.

Mikeala did not move away, but she didn't move closer either. In fact, she had no idea how he was going to react to this news. She suddenly felt guilty for overreacting so much to him before. Wouldn't all of that be minor compared to this, especially since she hadn't told him?

"Sam," she whispered, "um…" She bit her lower lip, hesitating.

"What is it?" Sam asked, his eyes now filling with concern.

Mikeala took a deep breath. There was no telling who was going to react first. Sam or Bumblebee. But she expected a reaction from both of them. She took a second longer to brace herself, then she blurted it out. "I'm pregnant."

To her mild astonishment, Bumblebee was the one who reacted first. The terrible sound of tires screeching filled the air as the Autobot came to a quick, sudden halt. It was a good thing that Sam and Mikeala were wearing their seatbelts, although it was safe to say that the moment was ruined.

Sam, however, did react as well. For a moment he simply gaped at Mikeala. There was an odd noise coming from his throat, and it seemed like he was trying to speak. Either he couldn't find the words or he couldn't speak. Or maybe it was both.

"Oh my God," he finally managed to squeak.

A moment later there was a light rapping sound on the window. Sam turned to see a police officer standing just outside the car. Sam reacted instinctively, rolling down the window and peering out. "Um, yes," he said, clearing his throat. "Is there a problem, officer?"

The officer leaned down a little to peer into the window at both of the car's occupants. "Look, if you two want to take the time to make out on the highway, at least pull over," he said. "You're holding up traffic."

Sam gulped, then turned around to look out the back window. Sure enough, there was a line of cars behind them. And then one of them honked their horn.

"I'm sorry… we'll be moving along now," Sam murmured, gripping the steering wheel.

The officer nodded. "Good," he said, then moved away from the car.

Bumblebee's engine roared to life, and he picked up the pace as he went down the street.

"So, uhh…" Sam gulped. Apparently he had found his voice, but his eyes were still as wide as saucers.

"Sam, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Mikeala murmured, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But I didn't even know until last night, when I went to see the doctor. I mean, all that I knew at first was that I'd missed my period, and it was time for a check-up anyway, so…"

"Yeah, I get it." Sam's voice sounded devoid of emotion. He was still in shock. He felt numb.

"Well, what do you think?" Mikeala asked after a moment of silence.

"I think this is too much for me to take in," Sam murmured. "How did this happen? How could it happen?"

"I guess I forgot to take my pill," Mikeala shrugged.

The rest of the ride went by in silence.

0o0o0o0o0

Jill continued to scream at the top of her lungs. She had ceased all attempts to free herself, but screaming in terror was the one thing she could do. So she did it for all she was worth.

The giant, metallic hand that held her seemed to loosen slightly, but not enough for her to get free. She did hear a groan from somewhere above her though, and thought that perhaps her screams were making a difference. Perhaps she was getting on his nerves, at least. But would that keep the giant monster from eating her? Or crushing her? Or doing whatever it wanted to do?

"Stop it!"

Jill ceased screaming, not because she'd been told too, but because she was surprised. The voice that had spoken to her sounded cool and mechanical, although it definitely held irritation in it.

"Now," the voice spoke again, and some of the irritation was gone, "what are you? Where am I?"

Jill said nothing. She didn't make any noise at all. What was this, was she a prisoner now? Did this giant thing want information from her? Well, maybe if she gave it whatever it wanted, it would put her down and leave her alone.

"Um…" She hated the way her voice trembled. She was scared out of her wits, but she hated the way she sounded. She did not want to sound weak or intimidated. "My name is Jill."

"Jill," the voice repeated. "Jill. Where am I?"

"You're… on my Aunt and Uncle's property. And they're going to be pissed off when they find out there's a giant metal monster here!" Jill snipped, regaining some of her spunk and courage. Part of her hoped that that threat might somehow be enough to make him back off and leave her alone, though she doubted it. If this thing was large enough to pick up a human in its hand, then it could easily grab other humans too.

…Or step on them.

"I am not a monster," the voice responded. "I am… I am…" It trailed off.

"You're what?" Jill asked, confusion sweeping over her. He almost sounded… clueless as to who he was.

And his next words confirmed it. "I do not know," he finally replied. "I only remember waking up here, and finding you."

"Where are you from?" Jill asked, her curiosity and confusion outweighing her fear for the moment.

"I do not know that either," the monster replied, sounding more and more perplexed by the minute. "All that I know is that I woke up with a large dent on my head. I can't seem to remember much of anything."

Jill frowned. He—at least she figured it was a he, because of his deep, male voice—sounded so… lost and insecure. Kind of like the way she did right after she lost her eyesight.

"Can… you help me?" the voice pleaded.

Any fear Jill had felt up to this point had almost completely vanished. This was no longer a giant metal monster holding her against her will, ready to eat her. Now she had taken it to be a lost stranger who had injured himself and needed help. And she was the only person around.

"I can try," Jill said slowly. "But you know… I'm blind. I can't see. But my aunt and uncle's house is… off that way, I think." She pointed. In spite of herself, she usually had a pretty good direction, although she wasn't sure. "But we shouldn't let my aunt or uncle see you," she added quickly. "Maybe… you can hide somewhere. In the barn."

The giant metal man shifted his position, then Jill felt a second hand curling around her slender figure. He wasn't crushing her, he was actually being quite gentle. But she felt as though he was clinging to her, as if she were the only thing that was keeping him together at the moment. She had no idea what it was like to lose one's memories, especially one's own identity, but it had to be difficult and frightening.

"Hey don't worry… I'm not going anywhere," she murmured soothingly. All traces of terror were now gone from her voice. "Besides I can't go anywhere… I'm blind. Maybe you can help me find my way back to the farm, and I can help you. Okay?"

There was a metallic creaking noise above her head, and she guessed that the giant metal man was nodding. "I will… carry you until we find it," he finally said.

"I'd rather be put down if you don't mind."

"My legs are much longer than yours. If I carry you, I can go faster and I won't risk stepping on you."

"Hmmm, good point," Jill consented. She did not like being carried around like a helpless child. There were already a lot of people who treated her like she couldn't do anything, not even walk or eat on her own, just because she was blind. But… this was one person she would allow to help her like this. As he pointed out, he was a lot bigger than she was and she would have a hard time keeping up with him. But he was also seriously hindered in his own way, too. She was going to help him, and he was going to help her first. That was their deal.

"So," she asked the giant as he began to move in the direction she'd indicated, "what do I call you?"

"I do not remember my name." She sensed a frown in his voice when he said that.

"Well I want to be able to call you something," Jill murmured. "Not just 'hey you' or 'big metal guy'."

"I had a name, but I don't remember what it is."

"Then maybe we can give you a temporary name. Just until you remember your old one."

A thoughtful silence ensued.

"How about… Creaker?" Jill finally suggested. It seemed to fit because the big metal guy seemed to creak quite a bit as he walked. Whether that was due to his nature, or because he had been damaged, she had no idea. And she would never know because she couldn't see. But either way, it seemed to fit.

"Hmmm," the giant murmured thoughtfully. "Creaker."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Optimus Prime was pleased to see Sunstreaker again, and even more pleased to see him happily reunited with his brother. The twins had been apart for a long time now, and he knew they were glad to see each other. Even if Sunstreaker was unhappy about his paint job being ruined.

Optimus gave Ratchet a chance to check over Sunstreaker to make sure he was alright, then permitted the mech the opportunity to touch his paint job. The Prime wanted to ask Sunstreaker a few questions as soon as possible, but he also knew that it was sometimes best to give Sunstreaker a chance to fix his paintjob first. That way, Optimus would, at least hopefully, have the mech's full attention.

After a few hours though, Optimus decided he would wait no longer, so he went to see Sunstreaker himself. It was easier than summoning the mech to his office in this case.

Sure enough, the Prime found Sunstreaker sitting on the edge of his berth, touching up his paintjob while Sideswipe sat on the neighboring berth. Sides was chattering away about past pranks they had pulled off together.

Sunstreaker glanced up from what he was doing when he noticed the Prime entering the room. "Optimus," he greeted, referring to him by name rather than by his designated rank and position.

"Sunstreaker," Optimus acknowledged with a nod. "I see you have chosen a new vehicle mode, and that you've made yourself at home."

Sunstreaker shrugged. "Me and Sides have always been roommates whenever we've been on the same planet. Why stop now?"

Sideswipe was grinning. "It's going to be just like old times," he chuckled.

"We'll see who ends up in the brig first," Sunstreaker muttered, using a paintbrush to carefully touch up a spot on his arm. The gentleness and care he used made it look more like a surgical procedure than a mere paintjob.

"I want to know exactly what happened," Optimus stated, getting down to business. "Why did you and Prowl come to Earth?"

A flash of concern crossed Sunny's features for an instant. He glanced up from what he was doing just long enough to ask, "Has Prowl been found yet?"

"No," the Prime answered. "We have search parties looking for him, and I will join them myself shortly. Now, why did you come to Earth?"

"I already told you everything I could," Sunstreaker replied, turning his full attention back to what he was doing.

"Prowl said nothing else?" Optimus pressed. "He told you nothing at all?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. If he had, I would have told you already."

Optimus sighed. "Very well, then. I want both of you to watch the base until the others get back. Since most of us are out searching, the base is understaffed right now."

Now Sunstreaker growled. "But I'm busy finishing my paintjob!"

"I assure you that you look fine," Optimus told him. "This is more important, Sunstreaker. If the Decepticons decide to try anything, we need someone at the sensors just in case. And I need both of you to do it."

With that the Prime left the room, hoping that he was leaving the base in good servos. He could already hear Sunstreaker cursing under his breath and Sideways teasing him about a spot he'd missed in his touch-up. Optimus knew that this was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

In a way, Jill Peterson felt as though her entire world had turned upside-down, for the second time in her life. The first time was when she'd lost her sight after the terrible battle in the city. It was truly terrible, to have the last thing you remembered before losing one of your most valued senses be the sights and sounds of complete chaos and destruction.

And she could still remember the thunderous noises of buildings and cars being destroyed, as well as the metallic noises the giant metal beasts made when they moved. The sounds of human screams had filled the air that day, along with the stench of burning flesh and buildings, and the pungent smell of blood.

Once again, she knew that she had been one of the lucky ones, overall. Some people had lost their lives that day, others had been severely crippled.

And right now, she was being carried by one of the metal monsters, possibly one of the ones that had been there, in Mission City, on that day. She had felt calmer at first, when she'd found out that he apparently couldn't remember anything. But now the anxiety began to build up again within her. What if he was really one of the bad guys? In fact, what if he was the one responsible for her blindness?

"You seem quiet," he deep, mechanical voice spoke aloud above her head. He was now holding her securely in one of his hands, although he was very gentle as if he were holding a fragile flower. He'd had plenty of time to kill her up till now, so it was most likely that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"I'm just thinking," Jill murmured quietly.

"About what?"

Jill felt her face scrunching up into a scowl. Her inability to see didn't allow her to glare at someone in the face, but she still permitted herself the expression. "About you," she finally admitted.

The giant, who had taken on the temporary designation of "Creaker", seemed to stop moving. Jill could almost feel his eyes—or whatever he had—looking down on her carefully. "What about me?" he asked, sounding more curious than anything.

"It's nothing," Jill grumbled hesitantly. She didn't really want to talk to him about what was on her mind.

"You just said that you were thinking about me," Creaker replied, "so it doesn't sound like it is nothing. Please tell me what is on your mind."

Okay, so apparently he wasn't just going to let it go. Jill sucked in a deep breath. "Okay," she began. "Frankly, I'm worried about what might happen if you get your memories back. What if you're just one of the bad guys? What if you're the one who did _this_ to me?" She put her hand over her eyes indicatively.

The giant robot studied the girl in his hand thoughtfully. He could not remember anything prior to waking up and finding her. Was it possible he had harmed her in some way? If so, what if he had done other terrible things before he'd lost his memory?

And what kind of a person would he be, if he did get his memories back?

"Perhaps you should tell me what happened," he finally said.

Jill frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Tell me about… what happened before you found me here. And tell me how you became blind."

"Uh, well…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Bumblebee, where are you taking us?" Sam asked at one point. "I thought you were taking us home."

This was the first time the silence had been broken, and it had only been broken because Sam noticed that Bumblebee had driven right past Sam's dorm. And he seemed to be headed in a different direction than Mikeala's home, so the Autobot seemed to have a different intention in mind than dropping the humans off at their homes.

Bumblebee struggled with his vocalizer for a moment, then used it to speak directly through his radio. _"I am taking Mikeala to Ratchet."_

"You're _what?"_ Mikeala exclaimed, surprised. Why would Bee be taking them to the medical bot?

"_So that he can check you over with his scanners,"_ the yellow Autobot replied.

"Whoa wait a minute, I don't think that's necessary," Sam exclaimed, shaking his head and gripping the wheel tightly. "Besides Ratchet is a medic for Autobots, isn't he? He wouldn't know what to do with a human." Sam tried to turn the wheel forcefully, attempting to veer them back toward his dorm. But Bumblebee would not be deterred.

"_Ratchet has familiarized himself with humans,"_ Bee said.

Sam slammed his foot down on the brake pedal, and yet Bumblebee simply kept on going. "Bee, this isn't necessary!" he snapped. "I'm sure the doctor said that Mikeala is in good health… aren't you?" He looked at his fiancée indicatively.

"Yes, I'm in perfect health," Mikeala nodded in eager confirmation. The truth was, neither of them wanted to see Ratchet. After the way today had been, the last thing they wanted was for all of the Autobots to know about this. Especially the one, grumpy medic who might simply chew them out over it.

"Besides you don't really need to worry about this," Sam went on, his words coming out faster as they always did when he was starting to panic. "I mean, isn't there something more important you might need to do right now? There is, isn't there? That's why you left us earlier, right?"

"_There are other things going on, yes,"_ Bumblebee replied, _"but this also takes priority."_ He wasn't about to tell his human friends this, but he did have a responsibility to help with the search for Prowl once he'd dropped off the humans at their homes. But to him, finding out that Mikeala was carrying had changed everything. And thus, Bee decided that he would simply drop both humans off at the base, leave them in Ratchet's care, then join the search.

"…Shit," Sam was muttering to himself. He knew his Autobot friend well enough to know that he probably wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Somehow, by the time Jill had finished telling Creaker everything she remembered—both from her own memories and from what she'd heard on the news at various times—she'd actually found herself telling him more than she'd originally intended.

She'd told him about how her parents and two sisters had died in Mission City, thanks to the battle that went on there. She went into every detail, telling him about the horrors she remembered, and even how she'd felt after she lost her family. Her Uncle Albert and Aunt Marge had graciously taken her in, but it was little comfort at the time…

"…I spent weeks in bed," Jill found herself going on. "I didn't even eat much, and my aunt and uncle were worried I was trying to starve myself to death. Or that I was so depressed I might not care about life anymore." She sniffled a little, and it was only then that she realized she was crying. She reached up and touched her cheeks, finding them moist with fresh tears.

"You have managed to recover, though?" Creaker asked quietly. It was the first time he'd spoken since she'd begun to tell the awful tale. His voice sounded grim and sad.

"Outwardly at least," Jill shrugged, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her sleeves. "My injuries healed up, and I live my life now, but I can never get my sight back. Or my family."

"I'm… sorry," Creaker told her sincerely.

"That's what they all say," Jill snapped bitterly. In some ways, even if she didn't like to admit it, this talk with the giant metal monster had actually felt good. This was the first time she'd truly talked about what happened, and she was getting all of her feelings out in the open now. Plus somehow, just making one of the giant monsters understand what they'd done to her, and how much it affected her life, was an added bonus.

"But you know, in the end," she went on, her voice holding a steely edge, "'sorry' does nothing. Oh sure, it let's me know that people apparently feel something about what happened, whether it's responsibility or pity or whatever. But it doesn't change anything."

"No it doesn't," Creaker acknowledged, and Jill thought she detected a frown in his voice. "However, there are things that words cannot fix. So perhaps I should say nothing more."

"Yeah well, even if you do _feel _sorry, even if you regretted everything that happened, you can't undo the damage that's been done." Jill bit down on her lower lip. She hated the tremble she heard in her voice, and she certainly didn't want to keep crying in front of him. Being blind was pathetic enough as it was; she felt like her crying simply made her look weaker.

"Then I will say something else," the giant robot told her solemnly. "I want to say that if by some chance I was the one who caused all that destruction, if I was the one who injured you and killed your family… I hope I never get my memories back. Because I wouldn't want to go back to being that monster, if I had done those things."

Okay, Jill had to admit that she definitely wasn't expecting to hear that. "Yeah well, you are what you are," she shrugged. "I'm sure you'd probably rather have your memories back."

"I would, because they would help me remember where I come from and who I am," Creaker replied. "I simply do not wish to harm you or anyone else more than you already have." A soft sighing sound escaped him, then he went on. "I feel a sense of… frustration. It is as if I am supposed to be doing something here, something very important, but I cannot remember what it is."

"Maybe you came here to destroy the rest of mankind," Jill spat bitterly. "Why don't you just get it over with and crush me? If you're just going to blow up the planet or something, I'd rather not be here to see it anyway."

"You would not see it anyway because you are blind."

That was exactly the wrong thing to say to her, as he quickly found out.

"JUST SHUT UP!" she yelled. "I don't need your sarcastic remarks or your stupid jokes. Just put me the hell down. I'll find my own way around."

Creaker did a double-take. "I was just stating a fact," he told her. "And I would rather not put you down. You have no idea where you are."

"Don't you go treating me like I'm helpless! I may be blind but I'm not weak or stupid."

"I never said you were. But it is illogical for you to try and do things that you cannot do."

"What would you know? I bet you don't have any blind robots or whatever where you come from."

"Actually we do have a few."

Jill blinked at those words. "You do?" she asked, her anger giving way to astonishment, then curiosity. "How can you have blind robots?"

"Their optics were heavily damaged or destroyed," Creaker said. "So they had to learn to make do with a guide, and by feeling their way around with servos. Sometimes they even used a drone that had minimal intelligence to help guide them."

"Like a seeing-eye dog?" Jill pondered aloud.

"I am unfamiliar with the reference," Creaker murmured. "But perhaps."

Jill was about to pursue the subject a little more, but something occurred to her all of a sudden. "Wait a minute," she said. "I thought you said you didn't remember anything about where you came from."

Creaker was silent for a moment, obviously contemplating that very thought himself. "It seems that… I am able to remember some things," he murmured. "Perhaps your story helped me to restore some of the files related to everything you said. And my memory might be slowly repairing itself."

"Huh," Jill said aloud. "Well. I guess… that's good. Just so long as you don't decide you want to rampage another city."

"I do not think I will," Creaker said. "I still cannot remember much, but I get the distinct impression that I never went out of my way to do harm. The only times I have fought were in self-defense, or in the defense of others."

"Then… you're not going to hurt anyone?"

"No," Creaker replied.

A short silence fell between them. "I believe we should get moving," the giant robot finally said, half to himself and half to Jill. With that, he began to walk again.

"I guess we'll end up somewhere eventually if we keep going," Jill muttered. She had no way of knowing if they were truly going the right way or not. "Just don't go out into the open, and you should be fine. People will freak if they see you."

"Noted," Creaker murmured.

Another silence fell between them, and this one lasted longer. The only sounds that could be heard were the creaking noises as the robot moved, as well as his feet carrying him across the ground. Other than that, it was simply the normal noises of the forest that could be heard.

Jill took the time to think about everything that had been said between them. She was fairly certain now that this robot was actually friendly, and it wasn't going to hurt her. But that didn't mean she trusted him fully. Just who, or what, were these giant metal things, and why had they come to her world? Why did they have to attack Mission City in the first place? She wanted answers to those questions, and she wasn't going to get them until and unless Creaker got his memory back.

Suddenly Creaker came to a halt, and Jill became aware of new noises in the distance.

"Whoa, what is it?" Jill asked, frowning as she listened to the new sounds. "Where are we?"

"We appear to be at a… road," Creaker replied.

"A road?" Jill echoed. Did he mean something like a highway, or a plain old dirt road in the middle of nowhere? "What color is it?" she asked. "Are there any cars going by?"

"I'd say the road is paved, and there are numerous vehicles going by."

"Then stay out of sight! Don't let them see you," Jill snipped. In spite of herself, she was truly becoming a bit protective of her companion. Maybe it was simply that she didn't want any more destruction anywhere near her. And if anyone saw Creaker, there was no telling how they might react at this point.

"Don't worry, I'm sitting on the ground right now, and I'm observing through a couple of tall objects," the robot replied.

"Tall objects?"

"Large and brown objects with some free on top. We have already passed hundreds of them while I've been walking."

"Oh, those are called trees," Jill told him. "Anyway yeah… just stay away from the road and you'll be fine."

"I plan to get a little closer to the road."

"What? No! You'll be seen!"

"If what I have in mind works, it will not matter if I am seen or not."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I just remembered something else," Creaker said, sounding thoughtful. "I have the ability to blend in on any world I end up on. I can take on the appearance of one of these vehicles that are going by."

Jill felt genuine amazement at thought, especially as she tried to get that mental image in her head. She still had vague memories of that cars looked like, and of course she could touch her Uncle's truck whenever she was near it. So this robot could turn into a car or a truck? "Can all of you big robots do this?" she asked.

"Yes, I believe so."

"So you're telling me that any of these cars going by could also be one of your kind?" The thought disturbed Jill greatly. It meant that any of these robots could be on Earth at any given time, and no one would even know about them until it was too late.

"None of these are like me," Creaker answered, his voice sounding slightly distant; he seemed to be distracted, as if looking for something. "If they were, my internal scanners would detect them."

"Um, okay… well then, if you happen to spot any that are like you, warn me will you?"

"Alright. Now I am going to put you down on the ground for a moment," Creaker informed her, and did just that. "I will leave you right here, and I am going to scan one of the vehicles. I will be right back."

"Yeah, sure," Jill muttered. Then, more loudly, she added "Just be careful! Don't get spotted." She then attempted to make herself comfortable on the ground while she heard the sound of Creaker's footsteps moving away. She presumed that she was a safe distance from the road, possibly behind those trees that he'd mentioned. As she touched the ground she realized she was sitting on some damp, green grass.

"Great," she muttered. Now if she got grass stains on her pants, she would have no way of knowing. And Aunt Marge had a way of treating her like she was eight years old when it came to grass stains. Jill cursed under her breath at the thought.

A loud siren sounded off in the distance, and Jill tensed. Had Creaker been spotted? Were the police going after him? She was fairly certain that Creaker could handle himself, and she thought—or at least hoped—he wouldn't harm anyone who might come after him. But there was no telling what would happen if word got out.

Finally the siren died down, then ended. She swallowed, hoping that everything was alright. She would wait a few more minutes, and if Creaker didn't come back… well, she might be stuck going toward the road and attempting to hitch-hike.

She shuddered at the thought. She was blind, and more or less helpless since she had no clue where she was. There were probably creeps out there who would love to take advantage of the pathetic blind girl on the side of the road with her thumb sticking out… she forcefully shoved the mental image away. She would give Creaker ten more minutes to get his metal butt back here.

She was mildly surprised that she preferred the idea of traveling around with him, the big clueless monster who was potentially dangerous, than hitch-hiking with a complete stranger. Well, the robot was someone she knew, at least. And he hadn't harmed her yet. So she was probably better off with him.

And hopefully he would be able to get her back to her aunt and uncle's house, before they began to worry about her. She could imagine them wandering around the forest in an attempt to find her, and then eventually calling the police if her absence pursued. Yes she definitely needed to get back as soon as possible.

Just then she heard the familiar sounds of metallic creaking and heavy footfalls. She turned slightly toward the sound, a habit she had even though she couldn't see. "Creaker?" she called out.

"Jill," his deep voice acknowledged her as he approached. "I have selected a form."

That was when she suddenly heard other, strange noises. It sounded almost like… twisting gears, metal grinding, and some scraping and soft clunking noises. When those noises ended, she was suddenly aware of one very familiar sound; it was the noise of a car engine revving.

"I believe that you humans ride inside of vehicles?" Creaker asked. She then heard the sound of a car door opening.

"I could sure use a lift," she murmured, stretching out her arms in front of her. Soon enough her fingertips brushed a smooth hood. She slid her hands across it as she made her way toward the side of the car, feeling the windshield and the roof. Yep it was indeed some sort of car, not a truck like her uncle's. She also made certain she was on the passenger's side, for she did not want to sit in the driver's side.

Then her hand brushed something atop the roof. "What's this?" she murmured, feeling the almost squarely shaped things beneath her fingers.

"You mean the things up there, where your hands are?" Creaker answered. In response he apparently decided to try them out. "Apparently they are lights," he replied. "The vehicle I scanned was pursuing another vehicle, perhaps because it was going too fast. It was using those to flash red lights, and it was also making this sound." With that, Creaker sounded off with a siren.

"Oh my gosh," Jill murmured in horror. "Stop that!" she hissed.

All noise ceased at once. "What is wrong?" Creaker then asked.

"I can't believe you scanned a police car!" Jill said, shaking her head. "I mean, these are, these are…" She shook her head and trailed off, unable to find the words for what she was trying to say.

"These are what?"

"You know what, never mind," Jill finally said, heaving a sigh of resignation. What did it matter anyway, if he'd chosen to be a police car or not? This wouldn't be any weirder than her day had already been. She then got into the passenger side and swung the door shut with a bit more force than necessary.

"Uh," she muttered after remembering that the car was alive, "that didn't hurt, did it?"

"No."

"Okay." Jill felt relived. "So… I'm assuming you know how to drive?"

"I believe I have my new form figured out adequately enough."

"Alrighty then… so do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Not really, but perhaps we can figure it out."

"Oh hold on a minute," Jill said quickly. "I'm on the passenger side, and I'm blind. This is going to look weird if it looks like there's no one driving you."

"I've already taken care of that."

"How? Do you have a little robot or something in your driver's seat, pretending to drive?"

"No," Creaker replied, "I have a holoform."

"Um, what's a holoform?"

"It is a hologram that resembles a human being, and it can mimic the general behaviors of a human."

"Huh, okay," Jill said slowly, trying to absorb this new information into her brain. "I wish I could see it," she muttered. "You know, uh, because I want to make sure it looks human."

"It looks like a human," Creaker assured her. "I scanned the human occupant of the police vehicle I scanned. In fact, it can do more than look human."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Like this."

Jill did a double-take. It sounded like a voice had spoken right next to her, in the driver's seat. It sounded just like Creaker's, except more human and less mechanical. Then Jill felt a very human hand touching her shoulder. It was just the right weight and texture, and it felt warm against her.

"Okay, you've proven your point," Jill muttered, shoving the hand away. "Just make sure it looks like your human holo-puppet is actually driving and you should be fine. Also, keep your hands to yourself."

The engine purred to live and Jill felt them rolling forward. Suddenly the car swerved to the left and sped off. "Make sure you stay on the right side of the road, too!" she added as they began to pick up speed.

"I will," Creaker acknowledged. "Oh, and…"

"What?"

"I believe I have remembered my name."

"Your name?" Jill said. "You remember your name?"

"Yes… my name is Prowl."

"Hmm," Jill mused, turning that name over in her mind. "Prowl. Well, that's a nice name. I guess it's better than Creaker, although this means I'll have to get used to not calling you that anymore."

She thought she heard the human holoform chuckle slightly beside her. "Alright," the human form said, "where do your aunt and uncle live? Perhaps I will be able to take you home if you can give me directions I can decipher."

"Well… honestly I don't get out much," Jill frowned. "And since I can't see, I don't bother to pay attention to that sort of thing. I usually just let whoever's taking me around worry about that."

Just then, another thought came to her. "By the way," she added, "what're you going to do after you drop me off? I mean, you still can't remember everything. Are you just going to roam around the area and hope to find some of your robot friends or something?"

"I do not know," Prowl acknowledged. "But my memory seems to be slowly repairing itself. Perhaps, in time, as I wait and keep my systems active, everything will come back to me."

"I would invite you to stay at my house for a while, but uh… it's gonna look weird when a police car pulls up in my aunt and uncle's driveway. And you know, police officers don't usually stick around for long, unless something is wrong."

"Perhaps I can come up with an excuse."

"Like what?"

"Well, you are native to this world… perhaps you can help me come up with something."

"Hmmm," Jill mused. "Well… can that holoform of yours go outside of your car mode?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

By the time Bumblebee reached the Autobot base, Sam had at least managed to persuade him to promise not to tell anyone besides Ratchet about the news Mikeala had given them both. In some ways, both humans were truly beginning to wish that Mikeala had waited until they were alone before she'd revealed the news of her pregnancy. At least that would have spared them both an unexpected trip to Ratchet.

Upon arrival, Bumblebee quickly realized that Ratchet was not in the base, although Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were. In fact, the twins seemed to be the only ones there.

The Autobot permitted a sigh to escape through his air vents, then allowed Sam and Mikeala to get out before he transformed. Then he contacted Ratchet over his commlink, exchanged a few brief words in Cybertronian, then terminated the link. He then informed Sam and Mikeala that the medic was on his way.

"You know Bee, this really is unnecessary," Sam insisted for what felt like the ten-thousandth time. But, as he had every single other time he'd said that, Bee simply ignored him.

"Well," Mikeala murmured, apparently trying to find a "bright side" in all of this, "at least we won't have to worry about telling your parents or my dad for a while longer."

"Oh God," Sam groaned, burying his head into his hands. He hadn't even considered that. He was still trying to get over the shock of the news. Mikeala instantly regretted saying anything at all.

"Hey, at least it won't be too bad just seeing Ratchet about this," Mikeala added quickly, with a dismissive shrug. She didn't think the old medic would even be interested in this. Surely all of the Autobots had other things to worry about… didn't they?

A few minutes later they heard the sound of screeching tires, and then the sound of metallic footsteps approaching. Sam and Mikeala took one look at Ratchet as he approached and they both practically quailed. They had seen the old bot's grouchy side before… but never directed toward _them._ They found themselves flinching under his intense glare.

"So it is true," Ratchet growled as he leaned down to get a better look at the humans. Apparently he had already scanned Mikeala. "What the slag were you two _thinking?"_

"Uh…" Sam's voice got caught in his throat.

"Hey look, we didn't plan for this or anything," Mikeala started. Why was he making such a big fuss about this, anyway?

Ratchet growled and thrust out his hands toward the two humans. "Get on," he grumbled, and they hesitantly complied. The old medic then walked toward the medical bay, grumbling all the way about "irresponsible children" and about how sometimes humans were no smarter than some Cybertronians that he knew.

Bumblebee took this as his cue to leave. Besides, he knew that his friends were in good servos… even if they wouldn't appreciate it much right now. And he didn't want to be anywhere near the medic when he was in _that_ mood unless he had to be. So he transformed and then headed out of the base, intent on his new task to try and help locate Prowl.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Yo, bro!"

Sunstreaker glanced up from what he was doing, scowling at his brother in annoyance. "Sides, can't you see I'm busy at the moment? I'm almost finished!"

"Worry about your paint job later," Sideswipe insisted. He seemed to be peering out the door at something. Both of the twins were in one of the monitoring rooms, the one that was right near the entrance. And apparently Sides had been eavesdropping on something.

"I've been putting this off too many times already!" Sunstreaker snipped. "And now I'm almost finished, so stop bothering me."

"But aren't you bored? It's been so boring around here and I want to do something."

"Like end up in the brig again?"

"Won't happen again, at least not anytime soon," Sides said with a dismissive shrug. "All I want to do is see what's up with the humans. Ratchet looked pretty angry and Sam and Mikeala looked frightened!"

"If you want to check it out, then go check it out," Sunny growled. "I'm busy." With that he turned away from his brother and proceeded to put some finishing touches on his arms and chassis.

"Suit yourself," Sides said, and then was gone.

Sunstreaker rolled his eyes. Knowing Sideswipe, he would probably manage to get his servos on some juicy gossip of some sort, and then it would be all over the base as soon as everyone returned. Then again, he had to admit… perhaps some juicy gossip would be nice right now. It would certainly break up the current boringness.


End file.
